TURKEY CHANGES RULES FOR MINORITY SCHOOLS

Athens News Agency
March 28, 2010 Sunday
Greece

ANKARA (ANA-MPA – A. Abatzis) A circular released by the Turkish
education ministry has removed powers and responsibilities previously
held by mandatory Turkish deputy headmasters appointed to private
schools set up by minority ethnic groups, relative to their own ethnic
minority headmaster.

Dated March 24, the circular has demoted the Turkish deputy head in
the school hierarchy, so that he is no longer the superior of the
ethnic minority headmaster in the eyes of the state and no longer in
charge of the entire staff.

Under the new measure, the Turkish deputy head is considered
second-in-command after the minority head for Turkish teachers,
though his position within schools remains.

The problems presented by the institution of the Turkish deputy head
master in minority schools had been raised by Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew in a letter sent to the Turkish education ministry as
far back as 2003. The practice of appointing a Turkish administrator
to the schools of Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities was first
established in 1937, rescinded in 1949 and restored in 1962.